Audace.

The Audace with its 121-Nm 1,400-cc V-twin engine is Moto Guzzi’s interpretation of a muscle bike. Ostentatious, muscular and fierce, the Moto Guzzi Audace can be picked out immediately by its front end, made stylistically lighter by the circular headlight unit and the carbon mudguard mounted on a fork without any telescope covering.

RC 390.

If you thought the RC 390 was a great bike to own and ride, well, guess what, it becomes even better now. KTM have ditched that underbelly exhaust for a more conventionally mounted end can on the right and have added ride-by-wire technology to help refine the delivery of the 44 PS from the bike’s liquid-cooled 373-cc single-cylinder engine. A slipper clutch has also been thrown in to reduce wheel chatter during trail braking or aggressive downshifting. All of these additions also mean that for the first time the KTM RC 390 is now Euro 4 compliant. Expect these changes to come into the 390 Duke as well.

2016 DUCATIS.

Ducati has unveiled its updated Hypermotard and Scrambler lines for 2016. The Hypermotard models receive larger engines that are more powerful and meet strict Euro 4 emissions standards, while the Scrambler line expands with the addition of a Flat Track Pro version and the 399cc Sixty2. The company also introduced an updated “Supermid” 959 Panigale, which you can read about elsewhere in this issue. The three models in the Hypermotard lineup-the base Hypermotard, the SP, and the Hyperstrada-receive a larger engine that also meets stringent Euro 4 emissions standards. Bore has been increased from 88mm to 94mm, with a corresponding increase in displacement to 937cc, this despite the models now being referred to as the Hypermotard 939 and Hyperstrada 939. Other updates include an increased compression ratio (from 12.8:1 to 13.1:1) and a redesigned 2-into-1 exhaust system. Maximum power is now 113 hp (slightly up from the previous model’s 110 hp), and torque is up by 10 percent. The Hypermotard’s chassis is unchanged from the previous model, and other features such as the Ducati Safety Pack, three-level ABS, traction control, and riding modes all carry over. In the Scrambler line, the four versions produced last year carry on and are joined by the Flat Track Pro, which is based on the Full Throttle but has side-mounted number plates, a small-nose fairing, and other Ducati accessories such as machined footpegs. As with the Full Throttle, the Flat Track Pro has a Termignoni exhaust as standard. The Sixty2 is a more affordable Scrambler, with a smaller engine derived from the 803cc mill producing 41 hp, which Ducati says will make the bike more accessible for newer riders. The Sixty2 has slightly different brakes and suspension, helping to lower cost to $7,995. The Multistrada 1200 Pikes Peak returns for 2016 after a year off, and the Multistrada line expands further with a more dirt-oriented Enduro model. The Diavel line also grows, with cruiser versions dubbed the XDiavel and XDiavel S added.